Mud crock



J. G. KOHN May 6, 1958 MUD CROCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 25, 1955 INVENTOR. JOHN G KOH/V HIS ATTORNEY J. G. KOHN May 6, 1958 MUD CROCK 2 SheetsSheei'. 2

Filed May 25, 1955 INVENTOR. JOHN G KOHN HIS ATTORNEY nited States MUD CROCK John G. Kohn, Rochester, N. Y. Application May 25, 1955, Serial No. 510,914

3 Claims. (Cl. 729) or other more costly units which require greater labor in preparing and assembling for operation, and a particular purpose of the invention is to afford a knock-down structure composed of separate walls or panels that can easily be placed in position on the ground and retained in proper relation to the surrounding earth and concrete floor.

Another object of the invention is to afford a construction in which four separate side and end walls are positioned by sliding two end walls vertically of the side Walls and effecting an interlocked relationship between the side and end walls, such that the end walls are limited in their downward and lateral movement by the side walls.

An additional purpose of the invention is to afford a construction that enables casting the side and end walls from concrete, and forming them in such fashion that suitable pipes or conduits can be inserted through any of the walls from the exterior to the interior of the crock for conducting drain or surface water into and, from the crock as conditions require.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a construction of the character mentioned in which a sump pump may be located within the crock and connections made through a suitable cover that is removably arranged within and supported by the side and end walls.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction and arrangements of parts that will appear clearly from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the novel features being pointed out in the claims following the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an assembled I crock built in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, with the removable cover in position;

'Fig. 2 is a similar view partially broken away, with the cover removed;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the side walls; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the end walls; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View on line 5--5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view on line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the two sections of the removable cover;

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing the crock installed, and Fig. 9 is a side view of the same, partially in section. Referring more particularly to the drawings in which like referencejnumerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views, 1 designates one of the side walls,

both of which are similarly constructed and each of which is rabbeted or cut away along the inner surface of its upper edge as indicated at 2, while 3 designates vertical grooves on the inner surface of each side wall, spaced from its ends as shown, and extending vertically downward from the ends of the cutaway portions 2 to points spaced above the bottom edge of the side wall, affording shoulders 4 at the bottoms of the grooves 3 to support and limit downward movement of the end walls while 5 are shoulders spaced below the top edges of the side walls to support a removable cover as will appear presently.

6 designates a circular cutout portion arranged centrally of each side walls between its ends and between the tops and bottom-s thereof, said cutout portion extending approximately halfway through the thickness of the side wall and aifording a thin portion 7 that can be readily knocked out and broken when it is desired to insert a pipe therethrough. Each side wall is also cut away or notched at'the ends of its upper edge as indicated at 8 to provide shoulders that receive overlying concrete forming part of the basement or cellar floor, and which serve to lock the side walls in position as will appear more clearly hereinafter.

Each end wall includes a body portion 9, the ends of which are received in the vertical grooves 3 of the side walls when assembled, and a reduced lower portion 11 that fits closely between the inner surfaces of the side walls, see Fig. 5, the end walls being thus interlocked with the side walls by the body portion 9 in engagement with the grooves 3 and the bottoms 12 of said body portion resting upon the aforementioned shoulders 4 at the bottoms of the grooves 3, whereby the end walls are supported on the shoulders 4 of the side walls and downward movement of the end walls is thus limited.

Each end wall is rabbeted or cut away at its upper edge on its inner surface entirely across its body portion to form a shoulder or ledge 13 which is in the same plane with the aforementioned shoulders 5 on the side walls, thereby forming a continuous supporting ledge or shoulder for the removable cover, and each end wall is provided with a circular cut out portion 14 substantially midway between its side edges and below its top, suchcutaway portion being the same as previously described in connection with the side walls and affording a part that can readily be broken or knocked out when it becomes desirable to insert a pipe or conduit through an end wall.

The removable cover is preferably composed of two parts as indicated in Fig. 7, to accommodate a sump pump and connecting pipe, and includes symmetrical portions, each of which is indicated at 15, and embodies a generally rectangular plate having an enlarged cutaway portion 16 on its inner edge merging into a second cutaway portion 17 which has a less sharp curvature, while 18 designates the straight ends of the inner surface of the panel 15, which are adapted to lie parallel and in proximity to similar straight surfaces on the adjacent portion or panel of the cover. The sides and ends of the cover portions rest upon the aforementioned ledges or shoulders 5 and 13 of the side and end walls respectively and each of the separable portions 15 of the cover is notched or cut away centrally of its outer edge as indicated at 19, said cutaway portion 19 being undercut or rabbeted along its lower edge asindicated at 21 to provide means for inserting a tool and readily lifting the cover portions out of the crock when access to the interior is desired for cleaning.

The side and end walls, also the cover, are all cast from concrete, suitably metal reinforced, and the crock is assembled by first placing the side walls in position on the ground a predetermined distance below the surface of the concrete floor, and while the side walls are maintained in proper position, the end walls are caused to slide vertically downward in the vertical grooves 3 of the side walls until the end walls rest on the shoulders 4 of the grooves, after which gravel, fine stone and dirt is filled in around the side and end walls to maintain them in such position and the concrete floor 22 is laid overlying the shoulders *8 of the side-walls and-the footing 23 of the main wall 24.

A sewer pipe 25 may be connected with the interior of the crock by an elbow 26 extending through one'of the knocked out openings in the adjacentside wall, the elbow 26 connecting with a downwardly extending pipe 27 leading to a pointseveralinches above the bottom of the crock, while 28 designates a drain tile that may be connected to the interior of the crock by a pipe 29 extending through a knocked "out portion in one of the end walls.

With this arrangement, water from the subsoil drain pipe 23 enters the mud-crock through pipe 29 and flows out through the pipe 27 and elbow 26 to the sewer pipe 25. Any foreign matter such as sand, gravel, leaves, stones and the like are collected in the bottom of the crock and prevented from entering and plugging the sewer connection, and when the bottom of pipe 27 is covered by a collection of such material, the cover is removed from the crock and the bottom cleaned out to permit water freely to enter the lower end of pipe 27. Ell is a conventional clean-outplug at the upper end of the sewer pipe 25.

The crock is preferably made of a minimum interior size of inches square and 24 inches deep with 4 /2 inch openings to receive the subsoil drain and discharge pipes, the latter being connected with a sanitary storm or relief sewer.

The crock is preferably installed at a point where a sewer pipe enters the basement and about 12 inches or more from the basement or cellar wall, with the top of the sectional crock approximately 2 inches above the top of the foundation, or flush with the basement or cellar floor.

The subsoil drain usually consists of field tile about 4 inches by 12 inches with 3 inch open points laid in a bed of one inch washed gravel under the basement or cellar floor, approximately 3 inches above the bottom of the footing, and connected with the crock as described above,

to prevent drainage water from building up a pressure sufficient to crack or break the floor. This allows such water to enter the crock approximately 5 inches from its top and to pass out through the pipe 27 which terminates aproximately 3 inches above the bottom of the crock, which can be cleaned out periodically to free the bottom of the pipe 27 as sediment collects around the latter.

The structure affords a crock formed of four substanlially flat concrete walls constructed by casting and which can be quickly assembled in operative relation, all

with a low cost of manufacture and minimum amount herein set forth, and this application is intended to cover such modifications or departures as may come within the purposes of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

l claim:

1. A knock-down concrete mud crock of rectangular cross-section comprising a pair of oppositely arranged separable and independent parallel fiat side walls and a pair of oppositely arranged flat end walls of the same height as the side walls and separable from and interlocked with the sidewalls, each side Wall having grooves of U-shaped cross section spaced from its ends and extending vertically on its inner facefrom its top edge to a point somewhat above its bottom edge affording shoulders at the bottoms of the grooves, and each end wall having a thickness approximating the width of said grooves and a reduced portion extending from its b0ttorn edge to a point thereabove affording shoulders at the top of said reduced portion and a wider portion thereabovc, the edges of the upper wider portions of the end walls fitting into said grooves in the side walls while the lower reduced portions of the end walls fit closely be; tween the inner surfaces of the side walls, said grooves acting to prevent movement of the end walls in either direction endwise of the side walls when assembled, and downward movement of the end walls being limited by the interengaging shoulders on the side and end walls and the side and end walls being cut away on their inner surfaces at their upper edges affording co-planar cover supporting ledges entirely aroundthe inner surfaces of the crock at points beneath the top edges of the'walls, and a flat removable cover positioned on said ledges and flush with the tops of the walls.

2. A knock-down concrete mud crock of rectangular cross-section comprising a pair of oppositely arranged separable and independent parallel flat side walls, and a pair of oppositely arranged flat end walls of the same height as the side walls and separable from and interlocked with the side walls, each side Wall having grooves of Ll-shaped cross section spaced from its ends and exending vertically on its inner face from its top edge to a point somewhat above its bottom edge affording shoulders at the bottoms of the grooves, and each end Wall having a thickness approximating the width of said groove and a reduced portion extending from its bottom edge to a point thereabove affording shouldersat the top of said reduced portion anda wider portion thereabove, the edges of the upper wider portions of the end walls fitting into said grooves in the side walls while the lower reduced portions of the end wall fit closely between the inner surfaces of the side walls, downward movement of the end walls being limited by the interengaging shoulders on the side and end walls, the side and end walls being cut away on their inner surfaces at their upper edges aifording coplanar cover supporting ledges entirely around the inner surfaces of the crock at points beneath'the top edges of the walls, a flat removable cover positioned on said ledges and flush with the tops of the 'Walls, and the ends of the side walls being cut away for a distance at their upper edges affording recesses for interlocking engagement with an overlying body of cement.

3. A knock-down concrete mud crock of rectangular cross-section comprising a pair of'oppositely arranged flat side walls and a pair of oppositely arranged fiat end walls of the same height as the'side walls and separable from and interlocked with the side walls, each side wall having grooves spaced from its ends and extending vertically on its inner face from its top edge to a point some what above its bottom edge affording'shoulders at the bottoms of the grooves, and each end wall having a thickness approximating the width of said groove and a reduced portion extending from its bottom edge to a point thereabove alfording shoulders at the top of said reduced portion and a wider portion thereabove, the edges of the upper wider portions of the end'walls fitting into said grooves in the side walls while the lower reduced portionsof the end walls fit closely between the inner surfaces of the side walls, downward movement of the end walls being limited by the interengaging shoulders on the side and end walls, the side-and end walls being cut away on their inner surfaces at their uppervedges affording coplanar cover supporting ledges around the inner surfaces of the crock at a point beneath the top edges of the walls, and a removable cover positioned on said ledges-and 5 6 flush with the tops of the walls, said cover consisting of References Cited in the file of this patent separable symmetrical sections having cut away portions UNITED STATES PATENTS on their adjacent edges affording openings to receive pump connections and cut away recesses at opposite 3 3 at 3 ?2 oints on their outer ed es to emit readil en a 'n i omas e a an p g P y g g g 5 1,511,613 Joern ,Oct. 14, 1924 th t' f l.

ecovel'por I'emOVa 2,440,857 Hart y 1948 2,701,027 Scoville Feb. 1, 1955 

